‘Olympic’ goals: Eriksen scoring from a corner, just like Stankovic and Recoba

MILAN – Whipping in unique and unpredictable crosses: this is what those with extraordinary ball-striking abilities are capable of doing. And it was a well-known fact that Christian Eriksen was one of these players. He showed that to the San Siro crowd with his free kick in the Derby Milano when he struck the crossbar from 30 yards out: that was a glimpse of his shooting potential, whether from set-pieces or not.

Against Napoli, the Nerazzurri’s no.24 showcased all his talents: firstly, with his goal directly from a corner, then with a free kick from range that called Ospina into action. Besides those moments, he also showed a lot of creativity and had several other efforts on goal. In the four games he’s started for Inter, Eriksen has been a part of three goals (two goals, one assist) and the Dane has scored two of Inter’s last three away goals across all competitions.

Goals directly from a corner kick are a rare occurrence, and in footballing jargon it’s known as an “olympic goal”. The name dates back to 1924 when FIFA confirmed that goals directly from corners are valid, because just a few months before that confirmation Cesareo Onzari had scored directly from a corner kick for Argentina against Uruguay. And given Uruguay were the reigning Olympic champions, that type of goal was dubbed an “olympic goal”.

RECOBA’S GOAL FROM A CORNER AGAINST EMPOLI

Eriksen’s cross bamboozled Ospina: a right-footed curler that avoided all the Napoli defenders’ heads. It was a type of goal that the Nerazzurri haven’t managed for 13 years: the last Inter player to achieve the feat was Alvaro Recoba. ‘El Chino’ bid farewell to the Nerazzurri faithful on 29 April 2007 by scoring his last ever goal for Inter (he managed 72 in 261 appearances) in a 3-1 win over Empoli: it was a vicious corner, with his magical left foot, that deceived Bassi and kickstarted an Inter party to celebrate the Club’s fifteenth Scudetto title.

STANKOVIC’S VENOMOUS CORNER AGAINST AC MILAN

From Recoba’s final goal to Dejan Stankovic’s first: the Serb netted his first ever Nerazzurri goal by taking a corner kick. It was 21 February 2004, AC Milan vs. Inter, and his wicked cross made its way past all the Rossoneri defenders and past a surprised Dida. AC Milan ended up coming back to win, but it was a goal to remember nonetheless.